Nelson looks to give Obama authority to bomb Islamic State in Syria

Group is "clear and present" danger to U.S., senator says

As the gravity of the Islamic State’s threats against the U.S. continue to grow, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said Wednesday he plans to introduce legislation in Congress to give the president clear authority to issue airstrikes in Syria against the terrorist group.

Nelson said he plans to introduce the bill when Congress is back in session next week. He said he believes President Barack Obama already has the power to issue such strikes, but the legislation will make that authority a hard-to-debate issue.

Military officials have stated ISIS is dangerous to the U.S.

In a July question-and-answer session with Navy sailors at Kings Bay in Georgia, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said ISIS is strong, organized, well-financed and competent.

“Make no mistake, and this country should not make any mistake on this, nor anyone in Congress, this is a threat to our country,” Hagel said. “This is a force that is sophisticated, it’s dynamic, it’s strong, it’s organized, it’s well financed, it’s competent.”

Nelson said about 100 people with American passports and about 1,000 people with European passports are being trained by ISIS in Syria. He said he believes if the U.S. doesn’t act, the country could be susceptible to attack.

The concerns about the Islamic State, also called ISIS and ISIL, were compounded after the group posted videos showing the beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

Nelson, who met with Jacksonville media Wednesday afternoon to discuss the bill, said airstrikes have been successful in containing ISIS in Iraq, so they would be successful in Syria as an alternative to sending in ground troops.

“This is a terrorist group the likes of which we haven’t seen before, and we better stop them now,” he said. “It ought to be pretty clear when they start cutting off the heads of journalists and say they’re going to fly the black flag of ISIS over the White House that ISIS is a clear and present danger.”

Nelson said he believes other senators will support his legislation. He said he plans to discuss the measure with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

McCain said in a New York Times op-ed letter on Friday the U.S. must “confront ISIS now” and challenged the president to take military action. Manchin has previously said the U.S. doesn’t need ground troops to fight ISIS. He said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” it’s important the U.S. avoid getting drawn into a prolonged war.